CHEPSTOW has been named one of the worst places to live in the UK for air pollution, just behind Glasgow and London and on a par with Birmingham and Cardiff.

A report by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) says the sooty particle level in the town’s air is 14 micrograms per cubic metre, compared to the World Health Organisation’s guideline of a maximum 10 micrograms.

A spokesperson for Monmouthshire County Council said the primary source of pollution in Chepstow was the A48 trunk road.

“Emission levels along the A48 through Chepstow have reduced in recent years, but the council’s environmental health section continues to review and assess pollution levels and the council works with key stakeholders to implement the action plan and reduce vehicle emission levels,” he said.

Out of 51 UK cities and towns in an air pollution database, Chepstow was one of 44 to have dangerous air quality levels, placing equal eighth highest, with a level worse than Newport which recorded 13 micrograms per cubic metre. 

Glasgow and Scunthorpe were the most polluted places, recording 16 micrograms per cubic metre of air pollution, followed on 15 by the likes of London, Leeds, Southampton and Salford.

The air in Chepstow is sampled on traffic hotspot Hardwick Hill, which Monmouthshire County Council declared an Air Quality Management Area in 2006 due to the high level of nitrogen dioxide pollution.

But despite regularly monitoring levels and creating a detailed action plan in 2011, the area is still of concern.

Repeated calls for a bypass for Chepstow have been rejected by the Welsh Government, which said last year it has no plans to build one.

A 2015 report to the council claimed that 54 per cent of HGV journeys on the A48 were through trips that could be avoided, as drivers used the road to avoid paying the M48 Severn Bridge toll into Wales.

The tolls are due to be reduced by 16 per cent from January 8, when the Severn bridges return to public ownership, and are due to be completely scrapped at the end of 2018.

The RCP has estimated that the ambient air pollu-

tion in the UK causes around 40,000 premature deaths per year, more than six million sick days and an estimated total social cost of £22.6 billion.

Dr Toby Hillman, one of the report’s authors, said: “There isn’t a safe limit for the amount of pollution that’s been defined as yet and we know the effects of poor air quality run from cradle to grave; it’s a lifetime threat to human health.

“This is a really direct and tangible impact on UK health from the drivers of climate change, and taking action on air quality should be a priority.”